Andrew, had been suffering from daily seizures since a fall and doctors cannot understand why. After ruling out epilepsy the diagnosis was Functional Neurological Disorder (FND).
FND causes a wide range of neurological symptoms. These are genuine symptoms but not caused by a disease of the nervous system. A person can have an accident or a period of illness and then get functional symptoms afterwards. Patients are thought to be converting stress into physical symptoms. FND is difficult to diagnose and is most often helped by a therapist or psychologist rather than a neurologist.
‘The Diagnosis Detectives’ with Michael Mosley on BBC explained FND and decided it was likely that the difficult experiences Andrew had when he was in the army were the likely cause of his physical seizures. They were caused by an emotional cut-off switch where the brain cannot process difficult emotions, feelings and memories.
The mind and body are intrinsically linked and the brain is truly amazing.